Joker's Apprentice
by spymage
Summary: "Because you have nothing else to base your beliefs on, bird boy. Right now, I'm all you got."
1. Waking Up

The room was pitch black, but was nothing the Boy Wonder wasn't used to. Although the rope was a bit uncomfortable as it burned the skin off of his wrists and ankles. He could feel the blood trickling down his cheek, and he could taste it in his mouth. But Robin had been in worse situations.

It was impossible not to cringe as the hysteric laughter grew louder near the door. Struggling to get his hands free from the rope, Robin desperately clawed at the walls behind him, trying to find something sharp. His attempt was forced to a stop when the door to the tiny room creaked open, blinding Robin with light.

After Robin blinked his eyes free of tears, Robin could see the room clearly now. It was about the size of a walk-in closet, and barely high enough for a tall man to stand up straight. The walls were made of cement and there were no windows for light.

Then Robin saw the man standing in the doorway.

He was smiling down at Robin, and the boy replied with a grin of his own. "You're rather cocky, bird boy." The deep voice echoed throughout the room. Robin didn't respond, he didn't know how his voice would sound while it was filled with blood. "I guess not." The Joker's laughter split through the air, sending chills down Robin's back.

A cough spasm suddenly hit the boy, and he spit blood onto the floor next to him. More laughter echoed around the room. "I would kill for Batsy to see you now." Robin glared at the pale man, trying to show none of the fear he actually had inside. He leaned against the back wall, trying to stop the blackness that was over taking him. "Too bad Bats is dead." More laughter.

"Why should I believe you?" Robin finally spoke, but to his horror his voice was weak and cracked.

"Because you have nothing else to base your beliefs on, bird boy. Right now, I'm all you got."

Fire burned inside of Robin as he forced his weight onto the wall of the tiny room. Leaning on his back, he quickly lifted his legs into the air and brought his tied hands around them, so his arms were no longer restrained behind his back. The Joker quickly grabbed a metal object that was lying in the hallway. As the exhausted Boy Wonder tried to regain his breath, the Joker smiled and hit the boy's face with the metal. Falling back down in shock, Robin yelled in pain.

"Hahahahahaha, I thought you were better than that. But I guess that's what happens when your whole world falls apart, and everyone you know dies at the hand of your enemy. But you should get used to it," Joker smirked and stared down at Robin, "I'm all you have left."

"Even if the whole world did burn down, you would still be my enemy. I would still hate you, you would still be a murderer."

"Sonny, if the whole world burned down and you and I were still alive, that would be because you helped me burn it down. Now that the Batman is dead, Gotham needs a new hero. But I'm obviously no hero," Joker laughed, "I'm a dictator. You know, people who take over cities, countries, even the world."

"You would have to have brains to be a dictator." Robin managed to say as he desperately tried to stop his head from bleeding.

"Boy, you say that again and I'll knock your brains out." Robin looked away and bit his tongue. "Well, I guess I couldn't kill my new protégé, that would go against the code, wouldn't it?"

"You're _what_?"

"You heard me. We're going to take over the world together. Me, my protégé, and my insanely powerful army. It will be fun, don't worry."

Robin didn't listen after that. He knew Joker had somehow become more insane than before. Batman wasn't dead, his father wasn't dead. And in no way would he work for that psycho. He would die first. And death was pretty close at the moment.

The Joker continued to blab on about working together and Robin blinked tears away from his eyes. Breathing in deeply, his body began to build back some of its strength. Forming a plan in his head, he started cutting at the rope that tied his ankles together with the hidden knife in his glove. The Joker didn't even notice, he never stopped talking.

The last piece of the rope finally split in two, and Robin had to force himself not to smile. He wouldn't get his hopes up, not yet. As the Joker turned his back on him, Robin jumped up into the air and slammed his wrists onto the Joker's head. Instantly, the man fell onto the ground, seemingly unconscious. Running through the open door, Robin was finally able to smile. He was almost free, he only needed to radio Batman, radio someone, to help him escape.


	2. Flashback

Robin barely remembered what had happened before he was kidnapped. He had been out with Batman doing a nightly round when something pounded onto the back of his head. Turning back to fight his attacker, the dizziness overwhelmed him and he collapsed onto the ground. Hands grabbed his legs, but he kicked back, nailing the attacker's head. He could hear the fighting around him; Batman was struggling against the odds, trying to fight off multiple men at once.

Robin tried to get back up, but every time he stood the dizziness would overtake him again and he would be knocked back down. He tried to watch what was going on around him, but his head was throbbing with pain. Groaning in frustration, Robin felt helpless as his mentor yelled in pain near him.

Robin forced his head to the side to watch the catastrophe around him. Batman was throwing punches, but every time he hit air. He wasn't even close at times, the men in black would dodge and laugh.

Robin's heart stopped.

Those laughs, he hadn't noticed them before because of his head, but he recognized it. All of the men were laughing exactly like the Joker. It was just like the Joker recorded his voice and gave it to them. _They must be the Joker's goons!_

With wide eyes, Robin watched with horror as Batman fell onto his knees, breathing heavily. "No!" Robin managed to whisper as he slowly got to his feet. _He must have gotten hit on the head too. _Robin was able to take a step towards his mentor, before he felt the hands grab his shoulders. They felt unnaturally cold, and he gasped as they touched his skin.

More laughter rang out from all around Robin; the goons were closing in on him. His vision was blurry, and the most he could see were large, black shapes. He was pushed onto the ground, and Robin grunted in pain. It was getting harder to breathe, so he tried to push himself off the ground for more air. He collapsed on his own, trying to regain his quickening breaths. The blood was pouring from his head now, and the darkness was taking over. Fear grabbed at Robin's heart, he wanted to run away as fast as possible. But he couldn't.

Robin fell under the darkness to the sound of his enemy's psychotic laughter.

I know, I know, short chapter. But this was obviously only a flashback, and he was almost unconscious most of the time, and it's kind of hard to do stuff when you're passing out. Well, please review; just spend ten seconds saying whether you liked it or not! (And of course, if you don't like it, say it nicely with some constructive criticism.)

Thanks for reading! You will never expect what will happen next….


	3. A Bird, A Bat and a Glass

Robin was running forever. Every hallway looked exactly the same, ten foot high concrete walls, with doors on every other corner. He looked in so many doors, trying to find the exit. When they weren't locked, the doors would open to empty rooms. He was still dizzy from his bleeding head, but he never stopped running.

The sounds of stampeding footsteps were behind him and around every corner. Robin was going insane with fear, tearing at anything that looked like an opening or a chance for escape. "Hello? Batman? Anyone?" His com-link was useless down in this maze of a building, so he was all on his own.

Some of the Joker's goons passed by, and he hid behind the opposite corner. Watching them walk into the opposite hallway, Robin sighed with relief. He had to figure out how to get out of there, and he had to be calm to figure it out. Closing his eyes for a moment to pull himself together, he turned his head back towards his glove, and was about to start up the holographic computer.

But after turning around, he saw the Joker was standing right in front of him.

Screaming with shock, Robin's body fell backwards towards the wall. His breathing came heavier, and the red liquid from his head seemed to be gushing out even faster now. The tall man in front of him simply replied with a laugh, and not a good one.

"You thought escape was that easy? That you could just skip down the hall and exit the door? I don't think so." The Joker smiled and stepped back. "I have something I need to show you, anyway. You couldn't leave without seeing the present I have for you."

"I'd rather not see it." Robin spit at him, and then noticed the black goons closing in.

"No, no, no. I think you will. I mean, I have to congratulate my new protégé with a celebration. And what kind of celebration is it without presents?" The goons grabbed Robin by his arms, and he made no attempt to escape. They were too strong for him, especially when he was this vulnerable. "I would sure hope that you got me a present, too. It only seems the right thing to do."

As they walked through hallways and doorways, Robin memorized everything. _A left around the corner, then take the door on the right. _It didn't matter how much his head was pounding, how much his muscles ached, he had to escape. That was the only way everything would get better, that everything would be okay. _Everything will be fine, it will be okay, I'll live through it, just like any other time this has happened. Bruce taught me well, I can do this._

Finally, Joker stopped in front of a large, metal door. On the right he entered a code into a keypad on the wall, and the door slowly creaked open on its own. "Are you excited? I am, I think you'll love it. I defiantly did."

The room was large, and it was filled with different kinds of machinery. Most of them weren't on, but the ones surrounding the bed were beeping and blinking. The bed was off to the side of the room, the white sheets were covered with splotches of red which continued onto the bloody floor. A large, dark figure lay on it, unmoving.

That's when Robin felt his heart being ripped out of his body and shredded to pieces.

"No," Robin cried. The goons let go of him, and he ran over to the bed. _He's not dead, he can't be… _The black cowl still covered the face of Batman, who seemed deformed and bloody. His arm was bent the wrong way, and his jaw was set in an awkward position. His uniform was torn in several places, which allowed you to see open wounds which were still bleeding. Putting his hand on Batman's chest, Robin tried to feel a heartbeat.

The slight pulse of life sent joy surging through Robin.

"See? I told you that you would like it. I took the down the Batman! I mean my men did, but I created them, so it still counts." The Joker walked up behind Robin and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"How could you do this? Why would you do this? And why on earth WOULD YOU THINK THAT I WOULD LIKE THIS?"

Frowning, Joker turned on his heels toward the machinery near the bed. "You are such a party pooper. I spend all this time destroying the enemy for my protégé, and I don't even get a thank you?"

"I am not your protégé, and I never will be. So stop saying that, because I will never change my mind." Robin wanted to take out his bat-a-rangs and stab them through the heart of his kidnapper, but he could barely walk without pain surging throughout his body. And he couldn't risk it with the Joker having power over him, and most of all, Batman. He couldn't risk his life, and sadly, Robin knew what would happen in the end. And he dreaded it with every bone of his body.

"A dictator needs to learn how to enjoy this kind of fun. I mean, I'm going to be the dictator and you'll be serving me, but you still have to enjoy it. It makes taking over the world so much more fun." Robin just stared at him, still trying to control the dizziness in his head.

"I hate you." Robin growled, never looking back at his mentor. The sight of him sent too much pain through Robin's heart.

"Good! So you're on my side now. I can't wait, we are going to have so much, and no one will be able to stop us. I'll have to share my plans with you, they are so exciting!" His red grin became bigger and creepier than before as the man danced around the room searching for something. An "aha!" escaped out of his mouth when he pulled out a small glass filled with blue liquid.

Robin cringed at the sight of the liquid, which was thick and bubbling. The Joker handed it to him, but Robin only stared at it. "I'm not drinking that. I don't care _what_ you do, I will not drink it."

Frowning and serious, the Joker replied, "Really?" then walked over to the machinery near the bed. "I could do this." Flipping the switch on one of the machines, Robin finally noticed the wires and tubes that were in Batman's body. There was no screaming or bloodshed, but Robin understood what the Joker had done.

The Joker had turned off his life lines, and now Batman was dying even faster than before.

"Stop! Stop! I'll…I'll drink it." Robin could barely stop the tears that were forming in his eyes. He still had to stay strong. No matter what happened, he could never show fear.

Joker flipped the switch again, and walked over to the boy. "Well? I'm waiting." There was nothing scarier than the Joker when he was completely serious and threatening, so Robin forced the drink down his throat.

Robin's throat closed up, and more pain throbbed in head than before. Grabbing his head and falling to the ground, Robin was desperately gasping for air. "You…you poisoned me."

"Yes, I did poison you, but not like the deadly poison. It's more like mental-control poison, so soon you'll have to do whatever I want. Don't worry, it's temporary. It's more fun killing people when you do it at your own will, so this is only to get the plan started."

Robin collapsed to the ground, clutching his head, and once again fell into the darkness.


	4. The Team

The last thing Wally knew was that Robin was going out on a nightly patrol with Batman.

Then he wakes up the next morning and Uncle Barry was knocking at the door. Wally opened it to see his Uncle a complete mess, his long, blonde hair was messy and there were dark circles under his green eyes. Before Wally could even utter a word, the speedster grabbed Wally by the arm and brought him to the safety of the living room.

"We can't find him…them…anywhere. We can't track them, we can't trace them, we can't find anything. They're just gone."

"Whoa, Uncle Barry, who are you talking about?" Wally knew he didn't want to know, but he would find out eventually. And obviously if his Uncle was this stressed about it, it must be bad.

"Batman and Robin, they're gone." Barry looked away as Wally gasped. He couldn't believe the words he had just heard. His best friend was gone, and he had just seen him yesterday. And now no one knew where he was, or where his mentor was. If those two were gone, then the whole League would be in distress until they found them.

The two wasted no more time talking about it. Grabbing their rings, which held their uniform inside, they changed and ran towards Mount Justice.

* * *

><p>Once the Flash and Kid Flash reached the mountain, Wally was shocked to see it so empty. He had expected it to be filled with League members and to be in complete chaos, but he had never seen it this quiet.<p>

Aqualad, Miss Martian, Artemis and Superboy were in the training area talking to Red Tornado. "Why can't we help? There is no reason for you to keep us here. We can be of assistance." Aqualad spoke calmly, but his body showed the anger he was feeling inside. Wally's heart sunk when he realized they wouldn't be able to help find the Dynamic Duo.

"We cannot risk more of our members to go missing. Until the League finds out who is behind this, you are ordered not to intervene." Red Tornado's voice lacked emotion, but you wouldn't expect much from a robot.

"We fight murderers and psychos almost every day! And you are telling us that we can't handle it?" Artemis had her hands clenched into fists, and Kaldur had to hold her back from attacking the red robot.

"It really does not make much sense. I do not see how we could not be of help." Miss Martian's eyes were wide but calm. Wally's heart melted at the sight of her, ignoring her green skin.

Superboy stepped up to Red Tornado and glared up at him, "We will go whether-"

"STOP!"

The team turned to see the speedsters walk in. They hadn't notice that the two had come in a few moments before, and were startled by Flash's voice. "I'm sorry guys, but you have to stay here. But we will keep you updated."

"That is so not fair!"

"It doesn't have to be fair, it is Superman's orders. And until we find Batman, he is in charge. I wish you kids could help out, but we can't risk losing more people. We don't want whatever happened to them to happen to you guys. Red Tornado and I will call in a little while if we find out anything." The Flash motioned for Red Tornado to follow him to the transporter. As they walked away and vanished into light, the team stood silently in the large training room.

"What do we do now?" Meghan asked, looking innocently at her teammates.

"We wait." Aqualad replied.

That was the last thing Wally wanted to do. Waiting was so hard to do when you had no idea what had happened to your best friend. Seconds pass by that feel like hours, and he found himself doing things he would usually never do.

"You're watching the news?" Artemis scowled.

"Yep." Wally replied, staring dumbly at the television screen.

"Newport, Rhode Island will be in the high sixties for most of the day, with moderate showers. Happy Harbor will probably see more rain near the end of the day." Wally sighed. _Ugh, I can't believe I'm watching the news! This is seriously painful. _

"This just in! A new circus is having its first show in just a couple of days. Why does it matter? Dick Grayson will be the lead acrobat in the show. After four years of retirement he has finally re-joined the circus business. He had left after his parents died in one of the shows in Gotham, they had been famous for performing dangerous tricks without nets. The 'Flying Graysons' as they were called, were the only three people in the world who could do a quadruple somersault, now Dick Grayson is the only one left in the world who can do it. We have not been able to receive any feedback from Bruce Wayne, Grayson's ward, at this time."

Wally watched with a gaping mouth and wide eyes. He ignored Artemis's glare as he watched the thirteen year old boy on the screen, who was swinging on ropes in his old acrobat uniform. His best friend was alive, but was he undercover? Dick had told Wally he would never join the circus again, but that obviously hadn't stopped him now. Watching the screen closely for the location of the circus, Wally leaned forward and tried to remember everything at once.

"What are you doing? They're just talking about a rich kid that joined the circus, it's not that amazing." Artemis crossed her arms and leaned back against the couch.

"You don't understand." Robin had never told anyone his identity but Wally. _Yes! It's right here in town! _

"I don't understand? They were pretty clear when…"

The blonde was interrupted when Kid Flash desperately called for the team to come together. The other three members of the team rushed in, excited for news on Robin.

"Has the Flash given us an update?"  
>"No, but I've got something better. We are going to the circus."<p>

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><p>Thanks everyone for all the reviews, I had never expected this many people would like the fanfic! And I know the chapters are short now, but trust me, they will get longer. Sorry that there was no action in this chapter, but there will be in the next one.<p>

You'll never guess what will happen, and I'm laughing evilly right now as I think about it…

Thanks for reading!


	5. The Message

"C'mon guys, hurry up! This is serious!"

"Well we would hurry up if you told us _why_ we are going to the circus!"

"I can, but I can't, but I can, but I really shouldn't. Just hurry up!"

Wally and Artemis had never stopped yelling at each other since they left Mount Justice. The other members of the team had sided with Artemis, but they came along anyway. The redhead was now in his civvies, trying to hold back his feeling to run to his best friend.

"Finally! We're here!"

The circus was in a large, grassy area that was filled with hardly any people. Some security guards stood in front of the large, purple tent, but that was about it.

"Wasn't this circus supposed to open in a couple days? I would think that people would be running around everywhere getting ready." Kaldur turned his head trying to see if there were people hiding somewhere.

Ignoring Kaldur, Wally ran straight towards the tent, with the rest of the team right behind. "Hey, you kids shouldn't be here. The circus is off limits, come back in a few days." The tall security guard glared down at the teenagers.

"I don't care, we're going in." Wally tried to push the man to the side, but found he was a lot heavier than he looked. The man laughed, and Wally cringed at how familiar the laugh was. He recognized it, but couldn't remember whose laugh it was.

"Kid, you can't get past me. The…What?...Okay, Boss." The security guard was talking to someone over a communicator in his ear. To the teenager's surprise, he stepped to the side, leaving the entrance wide open.

"You kids can go on ahead."

Not saying another word, Wally sped inside. Miss Martian and Superboy walked in quickly, but Artemis and Kaldur eyed the man one last time before entering.

The tent was pitch black, but they were able to find the ring in the middle and walked inside it. Seats lined the walls and two large poles stood on either side of the ring. It was completely silent, which sent chills down Wally's back.

"Seriously, what are we doing here? There is nobody…"

"Hey, guys!"

A spotlight suddenly turned on, blinding the teenagers. The light shone on a young boy standing on a small platform connected to one of the poles, which was about fifty feet high in the air. The boy stared down at them dangerously, with one arm on the pole and the other at his hip.

"Rob," Wally gasped under his breath. He hadn't seen the kid without his mask in a long time, but he still recognized his best friend.

"Yes, 'Hey, guys' is correct. It's so nice that you were able to join our show, I was beginning to get bored. I actually expected the League to show up but I guess you are…okay."

Another spotlight turned on, and the light shone on a man standing behind the team. He was wearing a top hat and a purple suit, and was leaning against a tall cane in his hand. His pale face shone brighter in the light, and his smile was eerily wide, showing his excitement.

"The Joker." Aqualad and the others stepped back in surprise. They had let their guard down, and now one of the deadliest super villains was standing right in front of them.

"Good, so you know who I am. I'm guessing you kids are the ones my dear friend Dick was talking to me about earlier." Laughing, the Joker spun his cane in his right hand.

"What did you do to him? What did you do to _them_?" Wally couldn't help it, he was screaming now. The anger inside of him was too much to handle. He didn't know how much torture he had put Robin through to get his secret identity, and he had to force the thought out of his mind.

"Absolutely nothing! My friend had gladly shared information, no pain involved whatsoever! Not much, anyway." Wally cringed at those words, and the fire inside him only grew stronger.

Dick grabbed a rope that hung from the ceiling and jumped off of the platform. He swung back and forth between ropes, eventually hanging off one by his knees. His long, black hair flew down, and he stared down at his team mates with blue eyes.

"Look at that! The kid is hanging upside down! He amazes me. Anyhow, he wanted to join my circus. When I gave him the opportunity to swing and flip around in the air right above where his parents were brutally murdered," Joker walked closer to the team, and his voice became lower and spine-crawling as he said, "he said it sounded like _fun_."

But that wasn't what sent chills down Wally's back, or what brought tears to Meghan's eyes.

As soon as the Joker had said that, Dick had broke out into hysterical laughter. And the whole team knew that laugh, the laugh of Robin. "Wally," Artemis whispered, "that's Robin, isn't it?" Wally didn't even look at her. He didn't look at anyone, they all knew anyway. All he wanted to do was rip the head off of that psychotic, murdering lunatic.

But that would go against the "code," but right now, he didn't really care.

Wally ran forward, full speed ahead, ignoring the fact that he was still in his civvies. Grabbing the Joker by the neck, he slammed the man into a cement pole. "You don't want to do that." Joker's voice was scratchy and hoarse, but still threatening.

"And why wouldn't I?" Wally growled.

"Because I could just do this," the Joker pulled out a button from his pocket, and before Wally could see it, pushed it. Instantly, the ropes that Dick were swinging on split in half, and he was sent hurtling to the ground.

"No!" Meghan screamed, trying to stop his fall with her telekinesis. Wally never loosened his grip on the Joker, and he only briefly looked back as his best friend plummeted to his death. The whole time the boy was falling, head first, he was laughing. He was laughing his high-pitched laugh, the one that is usually so hard not to love.

Meghan caught him and brought him safely to the ground, muttering in Martian to herself. Bringing him closer to herself, she squeaked, "Robin, are you okay?" Dick punched her in the face, sending her backwards. Standing on the ground, he held one hand at his hip and the other motioned his friends forward.

"Robin, we don't want to hurt you. We want to help, tell us what happened." Kaldur stepped forward, trying to talk in a calm, easy voice.

"Then I guess this fight won't be as exciting as I thought it would be." Rushing forward, he sent a series of punches toward Kaldur. The Atlantean smoothly dodged each punch, but was taken off guard when Dick swung his foot across the ground, knocking him off his feet.

An arrow flew towards him, which released a net, but Dick was faster. Grabbing small explosives from his uniform, he sent them flying towards the net. It exploded with a loud bang and fell onto the ground in flames. The other explosives he threw were still flying through the air, one landing next to Kaldur, who was still trying to get up from his fall, and the other next to Meghan, who had been blocking her face from the previous explosion.

The other two exploded, sending Kaldur and Meghan flying backwards and knocking them unconscious. Artemis was shooting arrows at the boy, who easily dodged each one. Wally looked back and wondered whether he should help his friends, and before he knew it, Joker yelled, "Hey Grayson, I could use a little help over here!" Wally tightened his grip on the Joker's neck, but was taken off guard as a hand grabbed his arm and flipped him through the air.

Wally reacted fast enough to land on his feet, and he looked back to see Dick standing next to the laughing Joker. More arrows were flying through the air, and the black-haired boy flipped through the air towards Wally.

Wally didn't want to, but he knew he had to. Throwing a punch towards Dick, he slammed into the boy's chest, who fell onto his back. Rolling backwards and onto his feet, he jumped forward and pulled Wally in front of himself, blocking Artemis' arrows. Artemis shot the arrows before she realized Wally was blocking Dick, and an arrow flew straight towards the speedster's leg.

The green arrow cut through the side of Wally's leg, sending blood spurting across the floor. He screamed out in pain and collapsed, grabbing his leg to stop the rush of blood. Artemis ran towards him, muttering how sorry she was with every breath.

Dick wasted no time, he ran straight towards his next victim: Superboy. He had been staring dumbly at the fight, which had only been a few minutes long by that point. He didn't understand what had happened to his friend, so instead of fighting at first, he observed. Robin had been the one to teach him how to observe people's actions before fighting, and he wasn't about to ignore that lesson now. When Superboy saw Dick chasing towards him, he wasn't scared. He was still only a thirteen year old boy, and Superboy was too strong for him.

Aiming a punch towards Superboy's face, Dick screamed out in excitement. Superboy grabbed Dick's offensive hand and lifted him into the air, then slammed him onto the ground. There was a loud bang and a series of cracks, then silence.

Joker's eyes watched from the sidelines, and his smile grew wider. This was perfect for him, friends fighting friends, superheroes destroying each other. It was like a hilarious, chaotic party. He had no worries the boy wouldn't win, and even if he didn't, it wouldn't be a loss anyway.

He still had Batman.

The cracks had startled Superboy, he didn't realize how much force he had actually used with the boy. Usually it wouldn't have been so bad, but he already looked weakened. Superboy noticed bloody scars and healing cuts all across Dick's head and body. Leaning forward, Superboy tried to shake his unconscious friend. "Robin, are you…"

"Surprise!"

Dick smiled and opened his blood-shot eyes. Before Superboy could respond, Dick punched Superboy in the face. His punch hadn't done that much damage, but the shock sent Superboy backwards. Punches constantly slammed into his face, knocking him left and right. Then he felt his skin being ripped open and his blood splattering onto the ground. Dick had put sharp blades onto his knuckles while he was down, and the edges cut deep into Superboy's face. That wasn't the only thing; with every punch, Superboy seemed to become weaker and more vulnerable.

Falling onto the ground, Superboy spit out a mouthful of blood. He didn't want to hurt Dick anymore, he could already see that Dick was limping and breathing heavily. For what seemed like forever Dick beat down on him, ripping open his skin and sending more blood across the floor.

And Superboy could do nothing about it.

"Alright, alright, I guess we're done here. Remember! This was only a message. And I think it was clear." Laughing hysterically, Wally still wanted to strangle the man. But he couldn't, the searing pain pulsing through his leg hurt too much, even lying down.

As the Joker was walking out with Dick by his side, Artemis stood up and grabbed one last arrow. She aimed straight at Joker's heart, not thinking of the consequences. Consequences didn't matter anymore. Their backs were turned towards her, and she let go of the string, releasing the arrow.

It seemed like time slowed down as the arrow got closer and closer towards its target.

Then Dick reached out his arm and grabbed the arrow mid-air. Smiling back at his team mates, he broke it in half, threw it to the ground, and walked out with the Joker.

"I'm so proud of you, boy!"

Wally couldn't hold it in anymore; tears were rushing out of his eyes. The pain of losing his friend was far greater than the pain in his leg. Kaldur and Meghan were slowly getting up, while Superboy was still lying hopelessly on the ground. Artemis was cussing and crying to herself at the same time, trying to wrap up Wally's wound. Grabbing his hair and letting the tears flow, Wally yelled out in pain one last time.

_We lost him…We lost him…_

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><p>Hey Guys! Hope you enjoyed it :)<p>

Well, I'm sorry to say this, but I won't be updating for a while. Finals are coming up, and there is a huge school fundraiser everyone's required to go to, so I won't have much time to write. It won't be like a month though, maybe like a week-week and a half.

Thanks for reading, and again I hope you enjoyed it (or yelled at the computer screen, because that's what I was kind of aiming for) ;)


	6. Gotham City

It took hours to get back to Mount Justice and finish wrapping up all of their wounds.

Kaldur and Meghan had burns all over their bodies. Their skin had been ripped open in several areas and the cuts were rather deep. Superboy hadn't said anything and only let Meghan touch him. His face was completely covered in deep cuts, including his arms. Nobody understood how Dick could have ripped Superboy up so badly, Superman's clone should have been indestructible. Wally was still in excruciating pain, a huge chunk of his leg had been ripped open. He couldn't even walk on that leg anymore, he would collapse and yell out in pain. Artemis had been the only one to escape without any injuries.

But that wasn't what bothered them.

The team had been beaten down worse than this, so the injuries were nothing. But the fact that their friend, Robin, had tried to hurt them, _had hurt them_, was bothering. They knew the Joker was behind it, but they didn't know how it had happened. But they were determined to find out.

Finally, walking over to the computer, the team sat down and stared at the screen for a few moments. "Who wants to report to the League?" Artemis asked.

No answer.

"I guess I should be the one to do it, I am the leader of this team." Kaldur went to the large computer and typed in some codes. A few seconds later, the screen blinked on and the Flash appeared.

"Hey, I told you guys…um…what happened? I'm pretty sure all of you weren't that beat up when I left a few hours ago." The Flash looked shocked and angry at the same time. He knew they had done something against orders, and he didn't like it.

"We have some news on Batman and Robin to report." Kaldur's voice was sad and unsure. "We had contact with Robin, but he seemed to be under the control of the Joker."

Flash's eyes widened, "Then we have a lead, and we defiantly know that they are in trouble."

"Kaldur cleared his throat, "There is one more thing. It seems that the Joker has compromised the identity of Robin."

There was a short, awkward silence, and it seemed Flash was trying to calm himself or he was deep in thought. "I'm guessing that is what happened to all of you." Flash looked at the bandage on Wally's leg. "Kid, can you walk?"

"No," replied Wally sadly.

Flash sighed. "Alright. I'll report to the rest of the League. Rest up, I'll come by later so we can talk more about what happened."

The screen went black, and the team was left in silence.

* * *

><p>"WHAT?"The anger was visible on Superman's face.<p>

"We need to go to Gotham to check it out. If Joker really does have control over Batman and Robin, then he might also have control over the city. Flash and Superman go on ahead, we'll finish up here." Wonder Woman waved off the two men as they ran ahead, leaving her and Green Arrow behind.

"Is there really any evidence here?" Green Arrow asked.

"I don't think so. We must have had a bad lead. I'll get my jet." Wonder Woman sighed.

Climbing into Wonder Woman's invisible jet, they flew away to Gotham City. They had left behind a small abandoned building which lay in the middle of a grassy pasture. It had seemed like nothing was inside but spiders and bugs, but they were wrong.

It was the Joker's hideout, and the dying Batman was still in there. The Justice League had made a huge mistake, one they wouldn't be able to fix.

* * *

><p>Flash ran side by side with Superman, reaching Gotham in only seconds. As they reached the edge of the city's limits they slowed down. It was the middle of the night and the full moon hung high in the sky. The outside of Gotham seemed nothing unordinary, gangs trading drugs in the alleyways and cop cars speeding through the streets. Ignoring the common criminals, the heroes raced inside the large city.<p>

The Flash and Superman stopped in an alleyway near the middle of town to catch their breath. Flash poked his head out into the street, "It doesn't seem like Joker has done anything, yet." He turned his head to see Superman staring off into space with wide, horrified eyes.

"You obviously can't hear what I'm hearing right now." Then Flash's heart stopped. He understood.

Both ran to the center of Gotham to see the chaos, and it was nothing like they had expected. Civilians were running hopelessly through the streets screaming their heads off. Large men in black clothing were running through the streets. They were beating people down to the ground and then stabbing them. Then the men would laugh, they laughed that oh-so familiar laugh.

"_Joker." _Flash and Superman said with hardened voices.

Blood covered the streets, there was barely a clean spot to step on. Bodies lined the sidewalk, some twitching, some not. But they were all covered in red. Flash raced towards one of the men that was about to stab a young lady. Pulling his arm back, the crimson hero prepared his punch. Then at the last second, the man turned and looked at him straight in the eye.

Flash threw the punch and smashed the man's face, but it did no damage. Quickly grabbing Flash's arm, the large man threw him onto the ground then tossed him in the air towards a nearby building. The hero collided with the brick building and there was a loud crack. Falling onto the ground, Flash grunted and rose to his feet after a moment. He wasted no time racing back to his opponent.

Superman had chosen his own target and charged toward him. Superman was able to throw in a few punches and knock him to the ground, nearly ripping his head off. "Where is Joker?" The Man of Steel yelled.

"Right behind you." The man smirked.

Superman let out a large yell as something sharp pierced his lower back. Falling onto his knees, the hero's breath quickened and his eyes filled with liquid.

"See! Now _that_ was funny!"

It only took a single second for Flash to notice his teammate was down. Running from his own opponent, he prepared yet another punch for his enemy. His fist hit right between the shoulder blades of the Joker. The pale man was forced down to the ground, then when he got his breath back, he laughed.

"Ha-ha, why so serious, Flash?" Joker tried to get back onto his feet but was knocked down once again by the Flash.

"What did you do to them? Where are they?" The Flash's tone was dead serious.

Turning his head to the side to look Flash in the eye, blood trickled out of his smiling mouth. "You mean the Dynamic Duo? Well…I don't know what happened to the rich playboy, but the little one decided to join my side. My own sidekick! Isn't that wonderful?" The Flash smashed the Joker's face onto the ground, sending more blood spurting onto the ground. Superman was slowly getting up behind him, but was still rather weak.

"I'm not kidding, Joker! Where are they?" The Joker didn't have time to respond. And even if he did, Flash wouldn't have heard him.

One of the Joker's goons had rushed over and punched the crimson hero in the side. The punch had been so powerful the Flash was sent flying in the air. First his head striked a metal light pole, which then collapsed onto the ground with large sparks of electricity. Then his body collided with a nearby building covered in glass. The glass shattered, and the hero fell onto the ground, motionless.

Superman was angry now. Letting out a loud yell he grabbed at the dark man's neck and pulled up. He only expected the man to be lifted into the air, but instead his neck became detached from his body. The black figure fell onto the ground, except for the head and neck which were still in Superman's hands. For a quick moment Superman looked horrified at the body, until he saw the wires sticking out of the head. Joker's goons were nothing more than robots.

"Wow. You really know how to ruin a party." Joker frowned. When Superman looked in the direction the voice had come from, nothing was there. Then he looked around more. The only thing that remained in the area was the robot lying at his feet, the dying people on the ground, and the Flash. "No!"

"Good golly, Superman what did you…oh. It's a robot?" Green Arrow ran to the kryptonian's side. His bow was in hand with an arrow already placed on the string.

"You came a little late, Ollie." Superman sighed. Wonder Woman was already at Flash's side, who was a few dozen feet away.

"Well, an invisible jet can only go so fast." Green Arrow growled.

"I need to report to the team at the cave. I have some information they may want to know. The people around here are either dead or dying, treat them for stab wounds." Superman walked away from the glaring hero. Pressing the button on his comm. link, he said, "Superman to Mount Justice. Come in."

* * *

><p>The Boy Wonder woke up on the floor.<p>

There was blood everywhere, and his heart stopped short when he realized it was all his. "What happened?" Robin groaned. There were voices in the background, but he didn't notice them. His head pulsed with pain, and he could tell a couple of his ribs were broken.

"See, I told you it was temporary."

Robin didn't look up at the man that was towering above him. He didn't think he could handle it anymore. Then he looked down at his own body, and saw he wasn't in his Robin costume anymore. "No…No!" He cried as he touched his face where his mask should have been.

"Relax, kid. You did a good job earlier. We got the message across. Now we're heading over to that place you were talking about earlier…umm…Mount Justice? Yeah, that's it. We're going to finish off that miniature Justice League."

"No." Robin said defiantly.

"I don't think you really have a choice. Bruce is still under my lifelines." The Joker laughed, and Robin grabbed at his ribs. "Anyway, if you think you can go and ask for help while we're there, you're wrong. They already know you are on my side, that you are my new apprentice. They won't help you…no one will."

Robin didn't understand what was happening. How did his friends know? Did the League know too? Something defiantly happened when he was under Joker's mind control, and it had been pretty painful. He didn't want to fight his friends; he didn't want to hurt them. But he needed to save Batman…

So with tears streaming down his face, he nodded at the Joker, "Okay, I'll do it."

* * *

><p><strong>YEAH! I updated! This chapter took forever, hardest one yet. But atleast school is over! WOOHOO! So I'll probably be updating more often :)<strong>

**Thankyou for reading, and please comment on whether you liked it or not!**


	7. Nightmare

"Superman to Mount Justice. Come in." Wally looked up as Superman's face appeared on the large computer screen.

"Aqualad here." Kaldur replied and walked up to the computer. The other members of the team were quietly sitting on the couch.

"We went to Gotham to see if the Joker had taken over the city yet, and by the time we got there he had already started to take control. Hundreds of people could be injured or dead from his attack, but the League is taking care of the situation now."

"So you took down the Joker, did he tell you where they were?" Aqualad asked excitedly.

Then he watched as Superman looked away from the screen and said, "No. And we were not able to receive any information from him. The only thing he said was that Robin had decided to join his side and become his sidekick."

"Lies! _Lies! _Rob would never do that to us! He would never work for the Joker!" Wally was yelling and Meghan had to lightly push him back onto the couch so he wouldn't bother his leg.

"I know he wouldn't, Batman wouldn't either. But we have only seen Robin, not Batman, he could be in even more danger." Superman sighed and Wally's heart sunk.

"We have to go, but there is one last thing I need to mention. It appears that Joker has gotten his hand on kryptonite. Which means Superboy, watch your back…and be careful." Superboy's eyes widened as the Man of Steel mentioned his name.

"Superman out."

The screen went blank, and the team was left in silence. "So that's why Robin was able to hurt Superboy, because he had kryptonite. Otherwise Superboy should have been unstoppable." Meghan held the clone's face in her hands as she looked over the cuts and bruises.

"He would never do that, not by choice. Rob would never hurt us." Wally cried out, shaking his fist.

"It is quite…unlike him." Aqualad sighed.

"Well, if Robin hurt us, don't you think it would be for a good reason?" Superboy asked. They all knew the answer instantly.

"Something happened to Batman, and now Robin is trying to save or protect him!" Artemis was shocked. Why didn't they see that before?

"We need to report this to the League." Aqualad said.

"They probably already know, I mean, they are the _Justice League_." The loud voice came from behind.

Everyone instantly turned around in battle position, ready to attack the intruder. Except Wally, who could only turn his head from the couch because of his wounded leg.

"I mean, they're pretty smart, but not as smart as me. They're also not as fun." The maniac in the back of the cave laughed hysterically.

The Joker was standing at the entrance of the cave, alone. "How did you get in here, Joker?" Aqualad growled.

"My new protégé brought me in. But it doesn't matter. We won't be here long." With those words a boy came into view from behind the Joker, and it was Robin. He was in his full uniform, with his mask on. Wally watched as he looked over the team with analytical eyes, looking at every scratch and wound on his teammates. Then he saw through Robin's mask and could see he was sad, or upset. He wasn't crazy like last time.

"Go ahead, Robin," Joker smiled, "kill them."

The Boy Wonder charged at Artemis, who already had her bow drawn with an arrow ready. Shooting the arrows through the air, Robin easily dodged them and sent a bat-a-rang towards the blonde. The black object struck her green bow and split it in half. The remains of Artemis' bow fell to the ground as she watched with wide eyes.

As the fight continued, Superboy grabbed Wally and ran from the room. "What are you doing?" Wally tried to punch him so he would stop running, but it only sent pain running through his hand.

"Meghan told me to get you away from the battle, you're not ready, your leg is hurt." Superboy said as he dropped Wally off into a room that was a safe distance from the battle. All Wally could do was grumble. "Don't try to help." Superboy growled and ran back towards the fight.

Robin and Artemis were in a fist fight, attacking and blocking each other's punches at the same time. Kaldur slashed down with his water sword, and Robin flipped backwards to avoid it. Grabbing his utility belt, Robin pulled out rope and threw it at Artemis. Before she could dodge, the rope wrapped around her. Grunting, she fell to the ground trying to free herself.

Kaldur slashed his water sword back and forth at Robin while trying not to severely injure him. Robin dodged smoothly, ducking, jumping and flipping through the air. Grabbing a tazor out of his utility belt, the wires flew through the air and pierced the dark-skinned boy in the chest. As electricity pumped through the wires, the Atlantean was knocked unconscious.

"_Robin_" the voice rang inside Robin's head. He looked up at Meghan, who was floating in the air with her hands pushed against her temples. "_Why are you doing this? What happened to you?" _

"_Joker." _Robin responded. "_I have to do this…he has him…"_

"_You mean Batman? Where does he have Batman, we can help!" _

_ "No, I don't know exactly where he is holding him. And you can't help. It's too risky. I'm sorry."_

Forcing all of his energy into his mind, Robin sent surges of power towards Meghan, who screamed from the extreme pain and fell to the ground. Superboy caught her just in time and ignored Robin as he walked over to Kaldur.

The leader of the team was slowly getting up and opening his eyes. Groaning, he looked up as something poked him in the chest.

It was Robin. And he was holding a gun to Kaldur's chest.

Wally slowly dragged himself to the corner of the room, where he could watch what was happening. He gasped as he saw Artemis struggling against ropes, Superboy trying to awaken Meghan, and his best friend holding a gun to Kaldur's chest. "No!" Wally yelled, but as the shot echoed through the air, the speedster closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.

Now all he could hear was Kaldur's screaming, and the Joker's laughter.

* * *

><p><strong>A few hours later…<strong>

They all sat in the medical room, waiting for Meghan to come out from helping Kaldur. As the green skinned alien walked towards the others, they all looked at her expectedly. "He's fine. It's not as bad as we thought, he was only shot in the shoulder." Her voice did not bring joy to the others.

"Really? Only the shoulder? See, Artemis, if Robin was still under Joker's mind control than he would have shot him in the chest and…killed him." Wally's words stung their hearts as he tried to prove to Artemis that Robin was sane.

"You're right. I was able to mentally communicate with Robin this time. He didn't say much though," Meghan sighed. "All he said was that the Joker has Batman somewhere, but he doesn't know where. So he had to do this."

Silence.

"But I am quite confused, I did not know Robin had telepathic powers like me. He was able to attack me through my mind."

"He was trained by Batman, he doesn't need superpowers to do anything." Artemis snorted.

"So Robin was only doing this to save Batman? He doesn't actually want to hurt us?" Superboy asked.

"Superboy, Batman is all Robin has. He would do anything for him, even if it meant dying."

* * *

><p>The Boy Wonder looked down at his dying mentor who was lying in bed. Tears ran down his face as he remembered the horrible actions he had just done. All he wanted to do was save Batman.<p>

"Robin? What…" Robin looked up when Batman's soft voice whispered through the air. It was obvious he was in pain.

"Don't move, it's okay, I'm right here." Robin smiled, more tears streamed down his face.

"This isn't the cave…where are we?" Batman tried to move, but Robin stopped him.

"You don't want to know." Robin cried.

Sensing Robin's fear, Batman tensed, "we have to get out."

"_No_, we can't get out. I tried. I tried so hard. And because of it I…I've done horrible things. Things you can't even imagine."

"I'm sorry…I…I can't seem to…stay awake." Batman tried to keep his eyes open, but his exhaustion would force them shut.

"It's okay, Bruce. It's better that you sleep anyway, because dreaming is better than living this nightmare."


	8. Wayne Manor

"So, what do we do now?"

Kaldur had finally come out of the medical room with his right arm in a sling. Wally's leg had already started healing, and he could stand on it without falling for minutes at a time. The rest of the team was buzzing around the cave, trying to help their teammates do simple tasks.

"We just have to wait until the League finds out something about Batman and Robin. In our condition, we really can't do anything now."Artemis sighed.

Wally groaned, "But it's been like forever! They've been missing for like…two weeks, right?"

"Actually, Wally, it has only been four days." Meghan commented.

"Yeah, well, it feels like a lot longer than that." The ginger grumbled.

Wally looked over at Superboy, who was staring at the blank TV. "Hey, Supey! Are you going to turn on the TV or what?"

"No." Superboy simply replied.

Wally reached across the couch and grabbed the remote control, then leaned back against the couch and pressed the power button. "Okay, let's see what's on…"

"BREAKING NEWS! It appears that Wayne Manor, in Gotham, has caught fire. Firefighters are struggling to calm the flames, but are having no success. They have found no people inside, and we have yet to see Bruce Wayne. This multi-million mansion…"

Wally didn't listen after that. All he could do was watch as Wayne Manor burned to the ground.

"Here comes…the Justice League? I wonder what the Justice League is doing here, something must be really wrong if they are here."

Wally was glad the League was there to help, and then decided that from the last couple days, he would never watch the News Channel again.

* * *

><p>Dick watched in horror as everything he knew and loved burned away. He watched from a helicopter that was well above the flames. The Joker stood right behind him, laughing and avoiding the open door of the helicopter.<p>

"See, sonny? Now you have nothing to hold you back. Everything is gone. You are now my true protégé, you are no longer _Robin_."

Dick didn't say anything, he only continued to watch the flames burn down Wayne Manor. Tears stung his eyes and anger burned in his heart. All of his belongings were in there. His clothes, his books…the pictures of his parents. He could only imagine the pictures turning black and becoming nothing more than ash. He could no longer look and remember the good times he and his parents had when they were all together. When they were still alive.

Now Dick knew the Joker had absolutely nothing to hold against him.

Dick managed a smile and laughed lightly, looking back at the Joker, "Nice work, Joker, you finally got to me."

The Joker smiled and said, "Well it took me a while, but you really only have one weakness. Your past."

"Why don't you come closer and see what you've done?" Dick smirked.

The Joker walked slowly across the helicopter to the wide open door. Sticking his head out, he laughed.

Then Dick pushed him out of the helicopter into the burning flames.

The Joker turned around in the air and grabbed Dick's arm, pulling Dick down with him. But the Boy Wonder quickly held onto the helicopter door, so his feet were still planted in the helicopter and only the upper part of his body was out of the helicopter.

"Why are you doing this?" Dick looked into the Joker's eyes, but there was no fear.

"Why did you kill so many people, why did you attack me and Batman, why did you burn everything we had? You are evil and worthless, Joker, and you deserve to die!" With one final push, Dick watched as the Joker tumbled towards the burning mansion.

Then Joker yelled his last words, "I trained you well, my protégé." And with a smile, he disappeared into the clouds of smoke.

Dick didn't care anymore, his heart was nothing more than stone towards that maniac. Closing the door and trying to take the Joker's final words out of his head, he went to the pilot, who was waiting at the controls.

"Pilot, take us home. Wherever that is."

* * *

><p>Superman watched as a helicopter faded into the distance, he guessed it was nothing more than news reporters. After Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Arrow had showed up at Wayne Manor the fire had burned up half of the mansion. It didn't take long to stop the fire, now all that needed to be done was search the mansion.<p>

Superman ran throughout the ashes of the manor. Besides losing millions of dollars of possessions, it didn't seem like anyone had been in the fire or trapped inside. But as he zipped past a large, now destroyed, room, he heard something.

Someone was laughing.

Running back towards the odd noise, Superman stopped in front of large wooden poles. They had fallen down, and someone was underneath them. With all of his strength, the Man of Steel picked up the large poles and threw them to the side. The person was still laughing, and it with every pole removed, it got louder and louder.

As the last pole was pushed off to the side, Superman looked down and gasped. The Joker was lying on the ground, his body burned and bloody.

"Superman here, you'll never guess who I found."

The League was now in Arkham Asylum, waiting for their enemy to come out of the medical room. They had a lot of questions for him, and Superman was about to rip the wall apart if he didn't come out soon.

They were in a small concrete room with one metal table and a few chairs. There was a locked door on the side and only one tiny window. It was completely silent as Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Arrow waited.

The locks on the door were released and an armed guard walked in, followed by the Joker and another armed guard. One of the men closed the door as the other handcuffed Joker to the chair and forced him to sit down.

"I didn't know I had been invited to a party." Joker smiled. His makeup had been washed off, but burns and scars made him almost unrecognizable. He could barely even smile, only the tips of his mouth were able to twitch upwards.

"We're not here to kid around. We're here for answers." Superman growled.

"Sure, sure." Joker smirked.

"What did you do to Batman?"

"Nothing really. Just kidnapped him, like the boy. I thought you would have figured this out by now." Joker frowned.

"Is he alive?" Green Arrow asked.

"Of course he is. It wouldn't be as much fun if he was dead." Joker laughed.

"What did you do to Robin? Put him under mind control?"

"Well, yeah at first, but he drank it willingly. After that fight in the circus, which by the way you guys were supposed to come to not those _wanna-be's_, his mind control wore off and he did anything I asked him to do. He even killed one of his team members."

There was a short silence as the members of the League tried to comprehend this. The team at Mount Justice hadn't reported any fight recently, defiantly no casualties. "I'll contact the team," Green Arrow stated then left the room.

"Did you cause the fire at Wayne Manor?" Wonder Woman slammed her fist on the metal table, and Superman touched her shoulder, but she didn't relax.

"Why on earth would I be there if I didn't cause it? But let me tell you, I did _not_ mean to get stuck in it. The Boy Wonder was the one who pushed me from the helicopter. Hahaha, I trained him well, didn't I?"

"Robin is probably going back to where Batman is now." Wonder Woman said.

Then the metal door opened and Green Arrow stepped in. "He did attack the cave, but nobody was killed. Aqualad was only shot in the shoulder, but he is recovering quickly."

"Where are you holding Batman?" Superman was the one who slammed his fist on the table now, which ended up leaving a large dent in the center.

"You know, you were there before. My robots informed me you had found the building, but you never actually went inside. You would never have found him in there anyway, it's a maze in there."

Ignoring the rest of Joker's words, Superman pressed the button on his comm. unit. "Superman to Mount Justice, we have discovered the location of Batman and believe Robin is going there now. We are in need of your assistance."

Taking his finger off the button, Superman turned towards the Joker. "We'll deal with you later."

"You'll deal with my Harley before you see me again."

"What?" Green Arrow glared at the Joker.

"Well, Harley is still at the headquarters. And now that she probably thinks that I'm dead, she'll be quite angry. Oh, how I love her. Although, I don't know how the boy will do, she gets quite murderous when she's angry."

The Joker didn't have to say another word. The three heroes ran out of the room and raced for Wonder Woman's invisible jet.

* * *

><p>Robin ran into the building headfirst, not wasting any time trying to be stealthy. The robots didn't appear to be stopping him, so all he needed to do was get Batman and get out. It seemed so easy.<br>Robin stopped at the room Batman was being held in and quickly pushed in the code on the key pad that was on the side. As the door unlocked, he pulled it open and slowly slipped inside.

"Batman, I…"

"What, Dickie?" Robin stopped short. Harley Quinn was standing over Batman with a couple of the Joker's robots by her side. Her hat was gone which revealed her long, blonde hair and she was in her usual red and black costume. He hadn't expected Harley to be here, he hadn't even seen her around the building before. "What? Did you expect that now that you've killed off my husband you can just come in and take your old mentor back with you?" The robots closed in on Robin, and he stepped back to avoid them, and then hit the door. He had nowhere to run.

"Well, no. You're not getting out now, honey. You never will. Your life is ticking away at this point." With that, the robots attacked Robin.

Robin was too exhausted and sore to fight back; he hadn't had food, water or rest since he was captured by the Joker. All he could do was try to dodge the large robots as they beat down on him.

At first the punches hurt a lot, but as they continued Robin's body went numb. He watched as blood flew all around him. The mask was ripped off of his face and he fell to the ground. The darkness was closing in on him and he wanted it to come so bad, just so it would stop hurting.

Then it stopped, and Robin tried to regain his breath. Harley walked towards him and grabbed the boy by his chin. "You'll regret killing my Puddin'. Now you're going to wish you were dead."

And with one final punch, the darkness overtook the Boy Wonder.

* * *

><p><strong>Hi everyone! Hope you enjoyed it :)<strong>

**I'm sad to say this, but I have decided there will only be 10 chapters in this story. So basically there are only 2 more chapters left :(**

**And the last chapter will probably be the shortest, so I will most likely be updating it only a day or two after chapter 9. **

**Well, thankyou everyone for reading, please review and have a happy summer! :D**


	9. Rescue

Kid Flash was ecstatic. His leg had healed enough so that he could run on it for minutes at a time and not feel any pain. When he found out the League had discovered the location of Batman and Robin and the team was requested to help, his excitement only grew. In the blink of an eye his was already in his uniform and ready to set off in Meghan's bio-ship.

Kaldur's shoulder was still in bad shape, so he waved the rest of the team goodbye as they set off on their mission. Wally, Meghan, Superboy and Artemis were at the edge of their seats as they got closer and closer to the given location. "We're here!" Meghan said and landed the bio-ship.

The moon hung over the dark, brick building. A field of grass surrounded it, which made it a perfect hiding place since it was out of range for any electronic signals. The Joker's robots lined the outside of the building, ready to attack anything that came near. Wonder Woman, Superman and Green Arrow were hiding behind a patch of trees in the distance, and from their view only one door was accessible to enter. The team ran up to the heroes, watching the building for any sign of Robin.

"Okay, I'll make this clear." Superman grumbled, "Kid Flash, since the Flash is out of commission right now, we'll need you to find Robin. We know he's in trouble, so don't waste time. The rest of us will be searching for Harley Quinn and Batman. Go!" Kid Flash didn't wait another second. He ran towards the mysterious building and knocked the only door open.

It took a few minutes for Kid Flash to even realize what he was doing and where he was. Every hallway was another passageway in a maze, and he found himself running in circles many times. Eventually he stopped and listened, because he was going nowhere and he knew it.

_Wait, what's that? _Slowly walking to another hallway, the soft noise became louder. _Someone's screaming…_ Kid Flash didn't waste any more time. Running towards the noise, he dodged doors and large men guarding the building.

The screaming continued to get louder and louder, and Kid Flash felt like he would never get there. Then the hallway opened up into a large, concrete room. There was nothing in the room except for some people, faces that Kid Flash could barely make out. _Harley and…ROB!_

Robin was kneeling over in the middle of the room, and Kid Flash could see the agony on his face. He ran towards the Boy Wonder, and at the last second saw the reason for Robin's pain.

His left arm was completely enveloped in flames.

Kid Flash knocked into Robin and continued to run until he reached the wall in the far corner. His speed had terminated the fire, and now Robin laid on the ground with his arm bleeding heavily. "It's okay, Rob. I'm here." Kid Flash tried to soothe his friend as he looked back to see Harley rushing at him.

Robin's lips moved, and only a soft whisper came out, "Bruce in left room…525…" And with that his body went limp, and Kid Flash carried him away from Harley, who had just grabbed a bazooka.

Kid Flash knew he had to stay in that room, or else he would never find it again. "Kid Flash to…um…everyone! I found Robin, and he knows where Batman is. Come to my location, Harley is coming at us with a bazooka, I could use some help!"

With a loud bang a large bullet flew towards Kid Flash. He dodged to the side and it crashed into the wall, exploding and catching nearby objects on fire. A few moments later Superman and Wonder Woman showed up, then Meghan and Artemis right behind them.

Harley took a few steps back away from the heroes, then hit the back wall. "Get back," she snarled. "I already shot once, I will do it again!" Kid Flash then slowed to a stop next to Meghan and Artemis, and they immediately started to take care of Robin's wounds.

"Joker's alive, Harley!" Wonder Woman yelled.

"I don't believe you!" Tears started to stream down her pale face.

"He really is alive, he's okay. He's in Arkham." Wonder Woman tried again.

"Well, I'm not going there. I can't go there…not again." The bazooka dropped from her arms and Superman took this opportunity to take Harley down. With an easy punch, she was knocked unconscious.

Green Arrow and Superboy appeared and were quickly caught up. "Where did Robin say Batman was?" Superman asked.

Kid Flash could barely stand watching his friend in pain, so he looked away and answered, "He said he's in the room to the left. And then he said three numbers, 525." All the heroes looked to the left and saw a large, metal door with a keypad on the wall.

"We need a code." Green Arrow walked over to the keypad and eyes it warily. Then he punched in 525…but nothing happened. "It looks like we need at least two more numbers. This should only take me a few minutes." The green hero said and went right into punching in numbers.

Kid Flash walked over to where Robin was, and tears stung his eyes as he looked at his best friend. The boy was deathly pale and skinny, it was hard to believe so much could happen to one person in only a few days.

"Will he be okay?" Kid Flash asked, looking away.

"Yeah, he's in pretty bad shape, but it is mostly his arm that is the problem. He'll get a few scars, but I think that's it." Artemis replied.

"I got it!" Green Arrow's voice echoed throughout the large room.

"You three take Robin back to the bio-ship. We'll get him immediate medical attention at the Watch Tower." Wonder Woman ordered. Meghan lifted Robin into the air, and they slowly walked back to the entrance of the building.

Wonder Woman walked over to the door where Green Arrow and Superman were waiting. As the final number was entered into the keypad, the door unlocked and Superman pushed the door to the ground.

"I could have done that in the first place." The Man of Steel commented.

"It wouldn't have been as much fun for me." Green Arrow smirked.

The heroes walked inside to find their teammate, Batman, sleeping soundly on a bed.

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><p><strong>Only one more chapter :(<strong>

**Thankyou for reading everyone!**


	10. The Graveyard

Wally West and Dick Grayson walked through the streets of Gotham City.

Only a couple of days had passed since Batman and Robin were rescued from the Joker. Whatever had happened on the rooftop had caused Batman to go into a short coma. He is quickly recovering, but is still bed stricken in the Watch Tower. With Wayne Manor burned down, there was no place for either Bruce or Dick to go. Dick is now staying at Wally's house until the construction on Wayne Manor is complete.

Dick has been dead quiet for the past couple days. His burned arm had been bandaged and put in a sling, while all of his other cuts and bruises were also attended to. Wally has been trying to tell him Bruce is okay, but every time he brought it up Dick would either ignore him or walk away. He also refused to go to Mount Justice or let any members of the team come visit him- especially Aqualad.

The sun was high in the sky as Wally and Dick rounded the corner into the graveyard. Birds sang in the trees, and flowers and pictures were laid down next to various tombstones. After walking through walkways and turning a final corner, Dick walked up to the burial place of his parents.

The stones at once had said "John Grayson," and "Mary Grayson," but were now split in half. Spray paint covered the grass and gravestones, each one reading, "_Hahahahaha._" Wally stepped back in shock, but Dick just stared.

"I can't believe the Joker would do this." Tears were streaming down Dick's face. So many horrible things have happened to him in only a couple days…

"Dude…I'm so sorry." Wally whispered from behind. His red hair was ruffled and messy, his clothes wrinkled and dirty. It took a lot out of him to watch his friend become so depressed.

"I can't do it anymore…I can't." Dick dropped down to his knees and Wally was instantly by his side. "Not after this…I can't."

"Calm down," Wally soothed. Tears threatened Wally's eyes, but he had to stay strong. Stay strong for his friend.

"No, Wally. I think it really is over. I can't be Robin anymore, Bruce can't be Batman. Joker knows, Harley knows. I bet every other criminal in Gotham knows." His breath was quickening, and more tears ran down his face.

"There will be no more Dynamic Duo. We're done, and I know Bruce will agree with me."

There was silence for a long time as Dick sat staring at his parent's graves. For once in his life, Wally sat and was patient.

"Nobody else knows. Joker is in custody, Harley is in custody. All the robots have been destroyed. We are a hundred percent sure that they didn't tell anyone else." Wally's voice was soft and reassuring.

"Are you sure?" Dick whispered, looking up at his best friend. His blue eyes were puffy and red, but they were full of hope.

"Of course." Wally lied. He didn't know, no one did. But if someone else _did_ know their identities, then the League would take them down. He was sure of that.

Dick looked away from the red headed boy. He knew Wally was lying, he's not dumb. But all he could do at the moment was trust him and move along with life. He stood up and pushed his black hair behind his ear, then turned around and walked away.

Wally sped up to catch him, and his heart flew when he saw Dick smiling. It was weak, but it was the best thing he had seen in a long time.

"So, did you guys miss me?"

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><p><strong>The End.<strong>

**Sorry for the short ending, but I like it (mostly :p)**

**Thankyou everyone who has read this and reviewed, you have no idea how happy that makes me! :D**

**So for the last time...review! You can just say one word, I don't care.**

**And again...THANKYOU EVERYONE! (This has been my best fanfic yet all because of YOU!) ;)**


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